Rainbow Trout Fishing in Wisconsin

Kevin found a spot to make all of Fletcher's fishing dreams come true in Wisconsin.  

He took us to B & H Trout Fishing and Bait Shop in Wisconsin Dells.  It's been around forever.  A sweet family owns it and lives on the property.  It's quaint and sweet and was a fun way to spend an hour.  It wasn't the easiest activity for Leo, but thanks to snacks, bug spray and my phone we kept him from falling into the trout ponds.  Definitely bring bug spray.

You check in and pay for every person.

They give you everything you need - bait, fishing poles, nets and clean the fish for you to take home.

I wasn't crazy about bringing home the fish we caught since we were out of town, but they really do make it so easy.  Kevin is in charge of grilling the rainbow trout at some point because that is out of my cooking wheelhouse.

Fletcher was so proud of his catch!  He caught one and Kevin caught one.

We started in the small trout pond, but didn't have much luck.

Leo loved watching the owners restock the pond with trout.  That was the highlight of his trip.

We met a couple other families who were there fishing for the day.  Ironically, they were both from Indiana, too.  We all agreed that heading North for Summer vacation is a fantastic idea!

Olive as helpful with the net.

Do you have any good rainbow trout or fish recipes??

The boys loved this activity so much!

Devil's Lake in the Summer

We were all looking forward to visiting Devil's Lake in the Summer time.  

Kevin picked the prettiest day for us to go.  It's only 20 minutes from the resort where we stay so it's an easy drive.  We were a little shocked at the Summer crowds.  There were people everywhere and parking was tricky at the north shore.  We lucked out with a close spot and quickly realized that people flock to Devil's Lake in the summer.  We paid $16 for an out of state day pass with the intention of staying for the afternoon.

We secured a coveted picnic table and set up camp.  I packed a cooler with drinks and a light lunch.  We had sand toys and towels.  Trash cans are hard to come by so be sure to bring your own trash bags or walk a long ways to find a trash can.  The place is hopping in the Summer - ice cream shops, snow cones, beer, rentals for all kinds of lake things, restaurants and more.  When we visited in the Spring it was more of a ghost town.  It was fun to see the place so lively, but it was also a little intimidating.  People came prepared with floats, fish nets for the tiny fish, coolers, canopies, inflatable swim stuff and more.  We were more of a bare bones operation and it was still so fun.

The water was chilly, but no one seemed to care.  There was a fun mix of families, college kids and groups of adults.  It really seemed like there was something for everyone.

The boys had big dreams of renting a kayak and they made that happen.  They rented it for an hour and loved it.  I think you could rent almost anything - paddle boards, kayaks, paddle boats, fishing boats, etc.  The lake is gigantic and they are fully prepared to help you have the best time.

The gift shop is also gigantic.  Tons of fun merch along with a restaurant.

I brought sand toys for Leo which held his interest for a bit.  He quickly decided that he's prefer to swim and look for little fishies.  Lake sand was more compact and harder to dig than beach sand.

Olive has been asking to get baptized and she decided that Wisconsin and Devil's Lake would be the perfect time to do it.  It was simple and sweet.  Something that will stick with her forever!

The water was clean and clear.

You could touch pretty far out.

The boys headed over to rent a kayak.  It was fun to keep an eye out for them on the big lake.

The guys LOVED it.  10/10 would recommend.

Thankfully, we had cash for treats.

And the beer is always flowing in Wisconsin!  You can bring a cooler of anything or purchase almost anything on site in the Summer.

We will continue to go back and explore Devil's Lake and next Summer we'll come even more prepared for lake life.  Olive and I loved people watching to see what everyone packed for a day at the lake.

Cave of the Mounds

We visited a new spot in Wisconsin: Cave of the Mounds.

We have been wanting to visit Cave of the Mounds in Blue Mounds, WI for a while and Kevin planned our drive so that we could go this Summer.  It's about an hour south of the dells.  He planned our drive to allow for a stop here on our way North to the dells.

The property is gorgeous - wildflowers, snack stations, gift shops, caves, gem mining, Wisconsin beer, geodes and more.  We enjoyed learning more about the accidental discovery of the cave and admired the geodes and the rock formations throughout.  We went on a self guided tour that lasted about 30 minutes.  It was safe and easy for our whole family to do.  I loved that it's a single entrance cave which means that there are no bats, snakes, critters, etc.  You got to explore and enjoy without worrying about anything popping out at you.

We rented a flashlight to take a closer look at things.

I brought sweatshirts for the kids to wear since the cave is around 60 degrees year round.

We went after a very rainy weekend so the cave was a little drippy.

We got to go at our own pace to stop and explore.

The whole family loved exploring this cave and would happily go back.

Our rock loving guy loved all the cool rocks.

The story about how this cave was discovered in 1939 was so interesting!

Cave time!

It was SO COOL inside.

We all really enjoyed this stop at the cave.  There were guides stationed throughout to answer questions and teach.  It is so nice to find a family friendly, really cool thing to do.  Let me know if you have any cave questions!

Friday Faves

Happy Friday, Friends!  I hope it's been a good week at your house.  We're enjoying our last weeks of Summer and trying to do all the fun things.

The highlights of our week were:

1. We had a great 20th anniversary!  We stopped by the chapel where we got married and Olive snapped our picture.  That was after we dropped my van off to be serviced, shared a ride to work and then ran all the errands.  But we ended the night with my parents babysitting so we could go out to dinner.  That pretty much sums up 20 years of marriage.  We're so thankful to hit this big milestone together.

One of my favorite pictures from our wedding day.

Lucky to love this crew!

2. Crumbl cookies!  Last year we got Crumbl cookies on our anniversary so I got them again.  I wish I would have gotten all chocolate chunk cookies.  They were so good.  The kids love the Reeses cookie and everyone wished the Snickerdoodle didn't have cream cheese frosting on it.

3. Pink flowers.  Kevin always picks out hot pink/light pink just like on our wedding day.  And they're always from the grocery store because budget flowers and superior.  

4. Longhorn is our favorite.  We had delicious drinks, bread, salads, seafood for Kev and parmesan crusted chicken and loaded baked potato for me.  I'll be dreaming of this meal.  And then we strolled through the grocery store to grab a few things before heading home.  Very on brand - practical and fun!

5. Teacher gifts!  I've gotten some really sweet teacher gifts and cards from friends in preparation for returning to the classroom this Fall.  Look at this darling basket!  I can't wait to use all this cute stuff in my classroom.  The love and support is so appreciated.

6. You're never too old for treats from your mom.  My mom watched the kids so I could work in my classroom and she sent me off with fresh Butterfinger cookies.  Comfort food at its finest!  This is probably why I'm always eager to share cookies with others - my mom has been baking for others my whole life.

7. We had lunch with this cute cow!  The kids and I have been going to all the appointments, running all the errands and grabbing some meals on the cow.  They picked Chick-Fil-A at the mall and this was Leo's kid's meal prize.  He wore his cow mask all through the mall and mooed at anyone that complimented his mask.  I love fun prizes like these.  4 year olds are hilarious.

8. Seeds! We have really enjoyed planting flower seeds this year.  Look at these Cosmos!  They're as tall as Leo and have been so happy in our full sun yard.  We have big dreams of a wildflower garden for Summer 2025.

We saved marigold seeds last year and it's been so fun to watch them grow.

I love this pretty pot cluster.

9. Leo has been asking for extra snuggles at bedtime and I'm happy to say yes.  I know he won't want to fall asleep with snuggles forever so I'll soak them in.

10. Do you want a sneak peek at my kindergarten class theme for this year??  Happy colors and smiley faces!!  I keep finding them everywhere and it makes me so happy.  I'm still working hard to pull my classroom together.  Stay tuned for a classroom tour in August.

We were driving home from Wisconsin - Kevin driving and me riding passenger.  And Fletcher spotted this smiley face on a semi truck.  I loved it!

I hope you have a great weekend!  See you back here next week for some fun Wisconsin posts.

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